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Statistical and Methodological Considerations for the Interpretation of Intranasal Oxytocin Studies.

ABSTRACT: Over the last decade, oxytocin (OT) has received focus in numerous studies associating intranasal administration of this peptide with various aspects of human social behavior. These studies in humans are inspired by animal research, especially in rodents, showing that central manipulations of the OT system affect behavioral phenotypes related to social cognition, including parental behavior, social bonding, and individual recognition. Taken together, these studies in humans appear to provide compelling, but sometimes bewildering, evidence for the role of OT in influencing a vast array of complex social cognitive processes in humans. In this article, we investigate to what extent the human intranasal OT literature lends support to the hypothesis that intranasal OT consistently influences a wide spectrum of social behavior in humans. We do this by considering statistical features of studies within this field, including factors like statistical power, prestudy odds, and bias. Our conclusion is that intranasal OT studies are generally underpowered and that there is a high probability that most of the published intranasal OT findings do not represent true effects. Thus, the remarkable reports that intranasal OT influences a large number of human social behaviors should be viewed with healthy skepticism, and we make recommendations to improve the reliability of human OT studies in the future.

SUBMITTER: Walum H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4690817 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Statistical and Methodological Considerations for the Interpretation of Intranasal Oxytocin Studies.

Walum Hasse H Waldman Irwin D ID Young Larry J LJ

Biological psychiatry 20150624 3

Over the last decade, oxytocin (OT) has received focus in numerous studies associating intranasal administration of this peptide with various aspects of human social behavior. These studies in humans are inspired by animal research, especially in rodents, showing that central manipulations of the OT system affect behavioral phenotypes related to social cognition, including parental behavior, social bonding, and individual recognition. Taken together, these studies in humans appear to provide com ...[more]

PMID: 26210057

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Project description:BackgroundThe evaluation of physical qualities in talent identification and development systems is vital and commonplace in supporting youth athletes towards elite sport. However, the complex and dynamic development of physical qualities in addition to temporal challenges associated with the research design, such as unstructured data collection and missing data, requires appropriate statistical methods to be applied in research to optimise the understanding and knowledge of long-term physical development.AimTo collate and evaluate the application of methodological and statistical methods used in studies investigating the development of physical qualities within youth athletes.MethodsElectronic databases were systematically searched form the earliest record to June 2021 and reference lists were hand searched in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they tested physical qualities over a minimum of 3 timepoints, were observational in nature and used youth sporting populations.ResultsForty articles met the inclusion criteria. The statistical analysis methods applied were qualitatively assessed against the theoretical underpinnings (i.e. multidimensional development, non-linear change and between and within athlete change) and temporal challenges (i.e. time variant and invariant variables, missing data, treatment of time and repeated measures) encountered with longitudinal physical testing research. Multilevel models were implemented most frequently (50%) and the most appropriately used statistical analysis method when qualitatively compared against the longitudinal challenges. Independent groups ANOVA, MANOVA and X2 were also used, yet failed to address any of the challenges posed within longitudinal physical testing research.ConclusionsThis methodological review identified the statistical methods currently employed within longitudinal physical testing research and addressed the theoretical and temporal challenges faced in longitudinal physical testing research with varying success. The findings can be used to support the selection of statistical methods when evaluating the development of youth athletes through the consideration of the challenges presented.

Project description:Background Calculating the disease burden due to injury is complex, as it requires many methodological choices. Until now, an overview of the methodological design choices that have been made in burden of disease (BoD) studies in injury populations is not available. The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify existing injury BoD studies undertaken across Europe and to comprehensively review the methodological design choices and assumption parameters that have been made to calculate years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) in these studies. Methods We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, and the grey literature supplemented by handsearching, for BoD studies. We included injury BoD studies that quantified the BoD expressed in YLL, YLD, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in countries within the European Region between early-1990 and mid-2021. Results We retrieved 2,914 results of which 48 performed an injury-specific BoD assessment. Single-country independent and Global Burden of Disease (GBD)-linked injury BoD studies were performed in 11 European countries. Approximately 79% of injury BoD studies reported the BoD by external cause-of-injury. Most independent studies used the incidence-based approach to calculate YLDs. About half of the injury disease burden studies applied disability weights (DWs) developed by the GBD study. Almost all independent injury studies have determined YLL using national life tables. Conclusions Considerable methodological variation across independent injury BoD assessments was observed; differences were mainly apparent in the design choices and assumption parameters towards injury YLD calculations, implementation of DWs, and the choice of life table for YLL calculations. Development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting of injury BoD studies is crucial to enhance transparency and comparability of injury BoD estimates across Europe and beyond. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-13925-z.

Project description:The neuropeptide, oxytocin (OT), has been reported to block tolerance formation to alcohol and decrease withdrawal symptoms in alcohol-dependent rodents. Numerous recent studies in human subjects indicate that OT administered by the intranasal route penetrates into and exerts effects within the brain.In a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, intranasal OT (24 IU/dose, N = 7) or placebo (N = 4) was given twice daily for 3 days in alcohol-dependent subjects admitted to a research unit for medical detoxification using Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA) score-driven PRN administration of lorazepam. Subjects rated themselves on the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptom Checklist (AWSC) each time CIWA scores were obtained. Subjects also completed the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale, an Alcohol Craving Visual Analog Scale (ACVAS) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) on inpatient days 2 and 3.All subjects had drunk heavily each day for at least 2 weeks prior to study and had previously experienced withdrawal upon stopping/decreasing alcohol consumption. OT was superior to placebo in reducing alcohol withdrawal as evidenced by: less total lorazepam required to complete detoxification (3.4 mg [4.7, SD] vs. 16.5 [4.4], p = 0.0015), lower mean CIWA scores on admission day 1 (4.3 [2.3] vs. 11.8 [0.4], p < 0.0001) and day 2 (3.4 [2.2] vs. 11.1 [3.6], p < 0.002), lower AWSC scores on days 1 and 2 (p < 0.02; p = 0.07), and lower ACVAS ratings (p = 0.01) and lower POMS Tension/Anxiety subscale scores on day 2 (p < 0.01).This is the first demonstration that OT treatment may block alcohol withdrawal in human subjects. Our results are consistent with previous findings in rodents that OT inhibits neuroadaptation to and withdrawal from alcohol. OT could have advantages over benzodiazepines in managing alcohol withdrawal because it may reverse rather than maintain sedative-hypnotic tolerance. It will be important to test whether OT treatment is effective in reducing drinking in alcohol-dependent outpatients.

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Statistical and Methodological Considerations for the Interpretation of Intranasal Oxytocin Studies.

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Statistical and Methodological Considerations for the Interpretation of Intranasal Oxytocin Studies.

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